Football: GNB Voc-Tech goes for three-peat at Vocational State Tournament

Thursday

Nov 29, 2012 at 12:01 AM

NEW BEDFORD — They've been there before, so the GNB Voc-Tech Bears' journey to the Vocational State Tournament for the third straight season was no surprise to them.

BILL ABRAMSON

NEW BEDFORD — They've been there before, so the GNB Voc-Tech Bears' journey to the Vocational State Tournament for the third straight season was no surprise to them.

Other schools may question how the 5-6 Bears got selected to face the 8-3 Greater Lawrence Reggies in the Large School game tonight at 7 at Manning Field in Lynn in a rematch of last year's game, won by GNB Voc-Tech, 17-14.

"They're a very good team," GNB Voc-Tech coach Chuck Allaire pointed out. "They were 9-2 last year and they pretty much return the entire team from a year ago. They play in the Commonwealth Conference with Shawhseen and Whittier. It's a nice Voke league and they scare us a little bit.

"They were 4-2 in the Voke count and we were 4-1 in games that count towards the Voke tournament."

GNB Voc-Tech plays in a league where it is the only vocational school and the South Coast Conference has quality teams.

"Being the only vocational team in the league prepares us for this game," Allaire said. "Dighton-Rehoboth had 10 wins, Wareham had nine and Fairhaven and Apponequet had seven each. They were our last four (conference) games and we lost four in a row, but that seasoned us a little bit. We're battle tested."

Another advantage the Bears may have is the field itself. Manning Field is turf, the same surface the Bears practice on all season and play on at home.

"We always talk about how we're on turf all the time and we're a much faster football team on turf," Allaire pointed out. "We look like turtles on grass. They're (Greater Lawrence) a grass team and we're a turf team. They're fast enough on grass.

"We're on turf and we think we can get to the corner on them. If we can break the line of scrimmage, we can go. They're gamblers on defense. They bring nine on every play.

"If Trevor (Mena) or Cory (Ponte) can get through the line, they can go. We have to pop a couple and we think it could be a foot race, but we have to get there. If they penetrate and make tackles on the first level, it'll be a long day. We'll have to block better than we did on Thanksgiving."

This year's "secret" weapon should be no secret, but place-kicker Justyn Soares, who kicked the winner the last two years (2010, a 23-20 win vs. Southeastern Regional), has had only one field goal in a game all season. He picked a good time for it, scoring the deciding points in overtime against Diman on Thanksgiving. Last season, he kicked 10 field goals.

GNB Voc-Tech's defense allowed just 12.5 points per game in SCC contests, however, the Bears score only 10.5 points offensively.

To have a chance for a "three-peat" in the vocational tournament, the Bears will have to clean up their act. That means staying away from penalties in the red zone, which has derailed the offense that has had difficulty in scoring. It's the big penalties — 10 or 15 yards — that have kept GNB Voc-Tech out of the end zone.

If Voc-Tech can get close to the end zone, look for Soares to be called upon. With its offense, three points are huge for the Bears.

Ponte is Voc-Tech's "horse" on offense and it's expected the Bears will try to ride him to victory.

On defense, linebacker Jason Lefevre has averaged a dozen tackles a game.

"We have to maintain field position and make them go a long way with a lot of plays," Allaire said. "They tend to make mistakes, and that would be in our favor. If they play a clean game, it could be a long night."